Occupational Hazzard
by lieutenants-lady
Summary: The Suliban attack the Liberty, crippling the ship. CHAPTER TWO IS UP
1. The Attack

Hi!

LieutenantsLady here. I'm back with a sequel to "Remember Me?"

I've decided to do a series using these characters, and am calling it the 'Alexandria Series'.

You don't have to have read Remember Me to understand this story, but it would help you understand the characters more. Also, if you don't read Remember Me before this one, and then read Remember Me, you are spoiling a huge surprise in Chapter Five, namely, who Alex's husband is. You have been warned.

If you haven't read 'Remember Me' then I'll give you a quick run-down of the important facts.

The main character in these fics is Commander Alexandria Katherine Stephens Reed. She is Malcolm's wife. They married when they were eighteen, and were very happy. They were both in Starfleet. She's an engineer. But, when she was 23, Alex was kidnapped by aliens and put into cryogenic stasis. (Sounds silly, I know, but it makes sense if you read RM) Malcolm thought she was dead.

Eight years passed, and Alex and 51 others were woken up. They were given a ship, and attempted to fly back to Earth. They ran into the Enterprise along the way, and Malcolm and Alex were re-united. After kicking James' (they bad guy) ass, Alex is promoted to Lieutenant and is given a post on Enterprise.

Anyway, in the last chapter of RM, Malcolm has his own ship, the USS Liberty (The Federation is in its infancy stages, but is there) Hoshi is Malcolm's First Officer, and Alex is the chief Engineer. Malcolm and Alex have two kids, Duncan and Allana, and one on the way. Hoshi and Travis are married with kids. Jon and an original character Lisa are married with kids, and Trip is going to ask T'Pol to marry him. (However, in this fic, he hasn't worked up the courage yet.)

This takes place about five months after the end of Remember Me.

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Paramount. I don't own them and gain no profit from using them here. And frankly, if I did own them, I would be more flattered that someone would spend their spare time writing about them than angry.

It's PG-13, for any language or scenes of violence that come up. It needs be, I'll rate the chapter. I'm not sure how it'll play yet. We'll have to wait and see.

A big thank you to my bets, G.Eliot, for you helpful comments. Don't worry. I can take constructive criticism. Thank you for your honest opinion.

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Acrid black smoke filled the air, pouring from the computer monitor that had exploded. It burned her lungs as she blindly stumbled down the damaged corridor, but she ignored the pain. She had to get to them.

As first officer and chief engineer of the Liberty, she knew her duty should be to the ship, but she had to get to her children, just to make sure they were safe.

The attack came out of nowhere.

One minute all had been peaceful and calm. It was her first week since returning from maternity leave, and she was easing herself back into the daily running of the engine room. She had read reports, run simulations and checked over the Liberty's systems. She was finding her stride again.

Then, several shots had unexpectedly hit the Liberty's hull, catching them unaware. The warp core had been knocked off line with the first volley of torpedoes. Consoles had exploded, injuring several crewmembers. When she tried to call the bridge, Alex discovered that the com was down.

She felt the ship shudder as they took more fire. If this kept up, the ship would fly to pieces. She stood shouting orders and calming her staff as they raced around, putting out fires. She took the engines off line, and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that the firing had stopped.

'Must have scared them off,' she thought to herself as she checked her crew for signs of serious injury. Thankfully, their wounds were relatively minor and they hadn't lost anyone in Engineering. She couldn't say the same for the rest of the crew though.

With communications down, she knew she'd have to report to the bridge. And as First Officer, her place was with her Captain. She still was not used to her new duties that came with the position, as Hoshi had only been promoted to Captain and given her own ship the month before. Malcolm had been so proud when he had offered her the position, and even prouder when she accepted.

She experienced a momentary shard of worry as she wondered how her husband had fared during the battle, but she knew that he could take care of himself. Her worry was overwhelmed by the sudden, mind-numbing fear she experienced when she thought of her children.

She left the engine room to report to the bridge, leaving Lieutenant Raul Angelo, her second in command, in charge. However, she had to make a pit-stop along the way.

The corridor to the child care room had sustained heavy damage, but Alex comforted herself with the fact that there were extra bulk-heads and protection around the section. She stumbled to the door, blinded by the smoke, and fumbled for the button. The door slid open, and she fell into the room.

Immediately, her three year old daughter Allana hurtled herself into her arms. Duncan, her six year old brother was half a second behind her, and she engulfed them into a tight embrace, whispering words of comfort. They released her reluctantly after a moment, when their teacher/carer Naomi Barclay approached the group. She had Alex's baby daughter cradled in her arms, and Alex wept with relief. They were all alright.

She looked around. There were fifteen children on the ship, including her three. There were five teachers and carers employed by Starfleet to look after the children of any crewmembers. It was their job to teach and protect the children, and Alex noticed that two of them had drawn the weapons they kept in the event they were boarded.

"Commander Reed, what happened?" Naomi asked her a she handed the little girl to her mother.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that we were attacked. Was anyone hurt?" Alex asked Naomi as she hugged her daughter close, and inhaled her baby scent.

Hannah Jane Reed was all of two months old, and was one of the tiniest babies she had ever seen. But apparently, she was just as hardy as the rest of the Reed family. Once in her mothers' comforting embrace, she settled down to sleep.

"A few bumps and scrapes," Naomi told her as she picked up a crying child. "But we're mostly just scared. No-one is answering our hails."

"The comm. is down. I was just on my way to the bridge, but I had to stop in," Alex told her. "I'll be sure to send someone down to let you know what's going on."

"Why would someone attack us?" Naomi asked as Alex placed Hannah into her cot. "We're just on our way to rendezvous with the Enterprise, and then go back to Jupiter Station for an overhaul of some of our systems. And, you and the captain have the reunion of course, but that's beside the point. We weren't even on a mission!"

Alex sensed the fear in the young woman's voice, and tried to re-assure her. "I promise I'll send someone down as soon as I can. I have to go." She turned to her children. "I have to go to the bridge. Be good for Naomi, and try to help out."

Allana didn't want her to go, but Duncan picked up his little sister and tried to comfort her. Under different circumstances, Alex would have found the sight of a small child trying to cradle a child that was almost as tall as him amusing, but she was too worried to smile.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Daddy is alright," she told them. "I'll send someone down, or one of us will come down, alright?" They nodded mutely, and Alex managed to tear herself away from their frightened faces.

She reluctantly left for the bridge, jogging down deserted corridors. Everyone was at their posts. 'Good' she thought as she entered the turbo lift. 'Malcolm will be proud.'

The lift opened onto the bridge, which was a scene of chaos. And not the organized kind. Burned out consoles smouldered, chairs were torn from their tracks and smoke filled the air. Confused officers shouted back and forth, some calling out damage reports, others casualty lists.

Alex began to worry. Malcolm would never allow this kind of confusion to reign on his bridge. He'd be in the thick of it, giving orders. Come to think of it, she didn't see him anywhere. Was he injured... or worse?

Everyone began talking at once when they saw Alex standing there.

"Commander, the starboard nacelle..."

"Commander, I'm receiving damage reports..."

"Commander Reed, our weapons are..."

She held up her hand for silence. She couldn't think with all those questions. For a moment, she decided to concentrate on the practicalities of the situation. She couldn't bring herself to ask if her husband was dead.

"What happened?" she asked Lieutenant I'Met, their science officer. (A/N I know, I know. A Vulcan science officer isn't exactly original, but hey, if it works...) He was sitting, untouched by the chaos around him. He had only been on the crew a few weeks, and was still trying to adjust to humans.

"We were five hours away from the rendezvous with Enterprise when we detected a ship on sensors," he began. "It was on an intercept course. Scans confirmed that the vessel was a Suliban Combat Ship." He ignored her gasp of horror, and continued. "They overtook us, and began their attack."

"Where's Captain Reed?" she managed to ask, dreading the answer. Was that compassion she just saw in I'Met's eyes?

He paused before answering. "We have sustained heavy damage. They knocked out our engines and the comm. system, as you are aware. They also knocked out our weapons and hull plating. We were, as you humans put it, sitting ducks. We are dead in the water. They had the superior fire power, and..."

"Lieutenant," Alex warned "I asked you a question. What happened to the Captain?"

"I am aware of that Commander. I am trying to explain. Once we were at their mercy, we received a transmission from the ship. A Suliban, named Silik, demanded that we turn Captain Reed over to him in exchange for the safety of the ship and crew. Before the Captain could answer him, five Suliban beamed onto the bridge. They were well armed, and prepared. They surrounded the Captain, who struggled but they overpowered him."

"Ensign Farrell tried to stop them as she was closest to them, but they took her as well. All seven were beamed back on board the Suliban ship, and they took off at high warp. This all took place in less than ten seconds. Before they left, we managed to confirm two human bio-signs on the ship."

Alex had grown alarmingly pale with every word the science officer had spoken. The bridge was silent, all eyes on her, as she swayed a little, and clutched the back of the Captain's chair for support. He knuckled were white where she gripped the chair, and her head was bent, her long red hair falling from her regulation plait to hide her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying this was all a dream. But, the blood she tasted from where she had bitten her lip told her otherwise.

"Did we loose anyone else?" she whispered.

"I have reports coming in from all over the ship." He told her, concentrating on the screen in front of her. "There were no fatalities, though numerous minor injuries. Of the seven hundred crewmembers on board, about three hundred are in need of medical assistance."

Slowly, Alex straightened.

"Sarah." Alex turned to the communications officer, Ensign Sarah Webb. "Is the external communications system intact?"

"I think so."

"Good. If its not, I'm authorizing a repair team from engineering to get up here on the double. It's to be a top priority. I want you to send a distress call to any Starfleet vessel in range, but try to hail the Enterprise. We were only five hours away when we were attacked, so they might be in range soon. I'Met, I want you to analyze the sensor logs, and determine their Warp signature. Start scanning for their Warp trail."

"But, our engines are off line. We will not be able to leave this area for several hours."

"I know that," Alex snapped, beginning to feel a headache forming. "Just, get started. We'll have something to work with when we do get engines back."

She turned to the remaining bridge staff. Their tactical officer, Lieutenant Charlie McKenzie stood to attention at his console. "Charlie, I want our weapons back on line. If they come back, I want us to be ready for them."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Max." Alex turned to their helm officer, Ensign Max Jordan. "I want you to go down to sickbay. You have some medical training, and it looks like Dr. Rimmer will have his hands full." He nodded in acknowledgement, and left the bridge.

"The rest of you," she turned to the remaining crew members "I want detailed damage reports, head counts from all departments... the works. I want to know who is available to help with repairs, and who's not. Also, anyone with field medic training is to report to sickbay."

The scurried off to do her bidding, and Alex turned to I'Met.

"I will be back shortly," she told him.

"Where are you going?" he inquired. "You ware the highest ranking officer on the ship at the moment, which makes you acting captain. And as acting Captain, you are needed on the bridge."

"I'm aware of that," Alex replied sharply, "and I will be back shortly. But, I promised my children I'd let them know what happened to their father."

Silence descended on the bridge, and Alex could feel all eyes on her as she entered the turbo-lift. She managed to keep her composure until the doors closed, but then she broke. She slapped the emergency stop button on the controls and collapsed against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position.

Waves of pain cascaded over her as she thought of her husband. Her heart felt like it was shattering into a thousand pieces, and fear took up residence in her heart. All she could think of was Malcolm in pain, and she was not there to ease it.

"Oh God Malcolm! My poor Malcolm. I love you so much." Her cry echoed in the empty turbo-lift, as did her sobs of grief.

She knew of Silik. She had read the reports on him, and the Cabal. Silik was the most ruthless, vicious and dangerous leader of the Cabal.

And he had her husband.

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Dun dun dun!

So, what do you think?

R&R please.

LieutenantsLady


	2. The Greatest Fear I've Ever Known

Hello!!

Thank you to Emiliana Keladry and G.Eliot for your reviews, and thanks again G.Eliot for being my wonderful beta.

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"Captain's Personal Log, February 16th, 2164.

I've just received a communiqué from Admiral Archer. The Liberty is being recalled. Starfleet has come up with new sensor modifications that they want installed on all Exploratory Class Starships, and that includes the Liberty.

It will take us about eleven weeks to make it back to Earth, and we'll be meeting up with the Enterprise in nine. We'll then travel in convoy back home, because Captain Tucker's Armoury Officer, Lieutenant Bell has some weapons modifications he wishes to run by me. Trip seems to think that if I pass them, then Starfleet's Weapons Division will too. I don't mind it. In fact, there are times when I miss just being Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, Enterprise's Armoury Officer, instead of Captain Reed of the Federation Starship Liberty. It was considerably less responsibility.

It will be good for Trip to spend some time with Duncan. After all, he is Duncan's god-father. And by the time we meet, we'll have something else to celebrate. The baby is due in a few weeks, and Alex is more than ready. She says she feels like a blimp walking around. I think she has never looked more beautiful, but then I'm biased. She's having lunch with Hoshi now, and then heading to engineering.

Speaking of Hoshi, she has only a month left to go on the Liberty before she is promoted to Captain, and given her own ship. I told her the news last week; she's being given the USS Wind Talker. It's a science vessel, and I think she'll be a brilliant Captain. Starfleet told me first, so I can find a replacement First Officer.

Alex would be the best person for the job. She's intelligent, capable, compassionate, dedicated... everything you need an officer to be. I don't know if she'll accept the job though. She's always been concerned with how it looks to be married to the Captain. But in this case, she can't complain. We ..."

Malcolm cut his log journal short as a small blast rocked the ship, and it tilted noticeably to one side. He vaulted over to the com. panel on the door.

"Reed to Bridge. Report! Are we under attack?"

"Negative Captain," I'Met answered. "The blast was located in the armoury. There was a small accident, but they are reporting no casualties."

"How much damage was sustained?"

"Minimal, though the blast was located near the gravity plating on that deck. That was why the ship tilted."

"Acknowledged. I'm on my way."

Malcolm turned off his computer, and headed for the bridge.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Ten minutes later, he was sitting in the Captain's chair on the bridge scanning preliminary readings when an urgent com. broke his concentration.

"Rimmer to the Captain."

"Reed here, Doctor. Is something wrong? Have there been any reported casualties?"

"Sir, it's your wife." Rimmer's voice sounded panicked. Joshua Rimmer was a young but gifted doctor, and he was more than a little nervous around Malcolm, even though his reputation had mellowed since his marriage. "She's been injured."

Malcolm's blood ran cold at those three little words. 'She's been injured'. They bounced around in his head even as he cut the com. and ran for the lift. As he raced towards sickbay, his mind was full of possibilities. He imagined extensive plasma burn covering his beautiful wife's body, and much worse.

He skidded to a stop outside Sickbay, and raced inside, nearly knocking people over as he ran. He spotted Rimmer's blond head behind a curtain and was about to pounce on the good doctor when the man in question noticed his presence. He bent to say something to someone lying on the bio-bed, and quickly stepped away.

"Captain Reed," he began nervously.

"Where's Alex?" Malcolm panted, out of breath from his flight through the large ship. "What's wrong with her? What happened? Is the baby alright? Answer me man!" he shouted, grabbing the young doctor by the shoulders and giving him a hard shake.

"Sir, I will if you let me go," Rimmer told him, wresting his arms from the Captain's vice-like grip. "She was inspecting the warp core when the accident happened, and she fell from the lower catwalk." Malcolm's face drained of colour at the doctor's words, but he remained silent and stiffened his spine to prevent himself from collapsing into a nearby chair as Rimmer continued.

"It was a fall of about ten feet, and she suffered extensive bruising, a sprained wrist and chipped ankle, which I have already treated. She should heal those wounds perfectly." Rimmer sighed. He really didn't want to tell the Captain the rest, but he had no choice. "However, the fall pushed her into pre-mature labour. I know that she is eight months along, but you and I both know that this pregnancy has been hard on her and the baby. There have been complications, and if I had my choice then the baby would be brought full term, but labour is advanced, and I can't stop it. I will try to deliver the child naturally, but I may have to resort to a cesarean section."

Malcolm swayed on his feet, and sat down heavily on a nearby chair. "My... my daughter. Will she be alright? Will my wife be alright?"

"Captain, I will do everything I can to help your family, but I must act now. Commander Reed is behind that curtain. She's under a lot of medication, but is still lucid. If you wish to see her before..."

"I want to stay with her."

"I'm sorry sir, I can't allow that. You can wait here if you wish."

"I'll stay here. But first, I have to see her."

Malcolm strode across sickbay and slipped behind the curtain. Alex was lying on the bed, dark bruises covering the right side of her body. One hand was settled protectively over her stomach, and she was crying.

"Hey now, none of that," Malcolm said, wiping her tears and sitting down on the bed next to her. "You need to conserve your strength."

"Malcolm," she whispered, "I am so ..."

"Don't." Malcolm interrupted. "Don't even say you are sorry. It wasn't your fault. Now, Doctor Rimmer has assured me that you are going to be fine. I can't stay with you, but I will only be a few yards away. I love you," he told her as he bent to kiss her gently.

"I love you too," she answered.

Doctor Rimmer tactfully cleared his throat behind them, and Malcolm shot him a glare before giving his wife one last lingering kiss and leaving the curtained area, and Alex was wheeled into another room just off sickbay.

Malcolm went back over to the chairs, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Every fifteen minutes, he called the bridge for damage and repair reports. Fortunately, there were no other serious injuries, and so sickbay was relatively quiet. After twenty minutes, Hoshi raced in, out of breath and she sat next to him, gripping his hand in a show of support as they waited for news. He called his kids to tell them that mummy was having her baby, and they were so excited that Malcolm couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm.

Finally, after four hours of waiting, Doctor Rimmer came through the double doors, exhaustion etched on every line on his face.

"It was a difficult labour," he told them, "but both mother and daughter are doing fine. You can see them if..." he trailed off as Malcolm and Hoshi vaulted for the open doors, leaving him talking to an empty room.

Alex was sitting up in bed, holding a little bundle wrapped in a soft green blanket. Tears of joy rolled down her face and she couldn't even speak as Malcolm came up beside her. He felt his throat constrict and tears formed in his eyes as he looked in awe at the tiny life that they had created.

"Hello Hannah," he breathed as he reached out to take his daughter's tiny fist in his own large one. "How's daddy's little girl?"

Alex reached up and ran her hand down his cheek. "We have another one. I just want to say... wake up Reed." She snarled and drew back her hand to slap his face. Malcolm stumbled back, reeling from the force of the blow. "I said up!" she snarled again.

Malcolm's eyes flew open and he found himself looking into the mottled yellow face on a Suliban soldier.

"Wha...?" he began, but the soldier backhanded him again.

"Silence!" he warned. "We'll be docking shortly." The soldier kicked him viciously in the thigh and stalked out of the room.

Malcolm shook his head to clear it. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was asking I'Met how long until we reached the Enterprise, and then... the attack. Silik's ultimatum and the Suliban intruders. It was all coming back to him now, and Malcolm fervently wished that he could escape back into the memory again. Pain flashed through him when he thought of his family, and he prayed that they were alright, and that Silik had kept his word and not damaged the Liberty any further.

His mind now clear, Malcolm began to take in his surroundings. He was sitting with his back against a wall, and his hands and feet were bound. He could taste blood from where his lip had split, and his thigh felt like it was on fire. The back of his heads throbbed from where a Suliban soldier had knocked him unconscious with a rifle. The room he was being held in was dimly lit, and he didn't recognize it. A human-shaped lump was lying unconscious a few feet from him, but that, he did recognize.

"Ensign Farrell," he whispered. "Ensign." He tried louder, but she barely stirred. "Rose!" She woke up when he spoke her name, and she looked as confused as he felt.

"Sir," she rasped out through dry lips. "What happened?"

"We were attacked, remember? By the Suliban? They demanded me in return for the safety of the ship."

"I remember now. Several hostiles were beamed onto the ship, and they went for you. I tried to stop them, but obviously, I didn't succeed."

"That doesn't matter now. Why did you try to take them all on Ensign?"

"Sir, I'm security. It's my job to try to protect the crew, and especially you sir." Malcolm couldn't help the smile that crept over his face.

"What?" Rose demanded.

"Nothing. It's just; you remind me a lot of myself when I was first posted aboard the Enterprise."

Rose smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment sir."

The peaceful moment was interrupted by the door sliding open and light flooding into the room. Silik and four armed soldiers stepped into the room. Malcolm sat up straighter, though it was hard due to his bindings. Silik stopped in front of him.

"Well, well, well. Captain Malcolm Reed."

"Silik, you have made such a big mistake. You do realize that, don't you?" Malcolm asked.

"Oh, I'm shaking with fear," Silik sneered.

"Why have you taken us?" Rose asked, her voice betraying none of her fear.

"You were a mistake, my dear." Silik answered. "We meant only to capture your illustrious Captain here. However, you Starfleet types always go for the heroic rescue. If you hadn't tried to stop us, you wouldn't be here."

"Why me?" Malcolm asked. "I mean, in the past, you were usually gunning for Archer. The rest of the Enterprise crew was of little consequence to you. Why me and why now?"

"Well, as you know, the Xindi attack on Earth wasn't supposed to happen. Before that, you had a memorable enough career. Now though, you do something that I've been ordered to stop."

"What?" Malcolm exploded. "When am I supposed to do this 'something'?"

"In a few years time."

"What! You mean you intend to keep us here for that long?"

"No, no." Silik laughed. "I intend to torture you and your Ensign for information, and then kill you." He gestured to two of the guards. "Take her away."

They leaned down and grabbed Rose under her arms. She struggled, but a third guard knocked her over the head with the butt of his rifle and she slumped down, unconscious. Malcolm struggled against his bindings, trying desperately to free himself.

"Stop!" he begged. "Take me instead. She's only an Ensign, she doesn't know much! I'm the Captain! Damnit, leave her alone!!"

The guards ignored his protests and dragged the unconscious Ensign from the room, and Silik squatted down until he was eye level with Malcolm.

"Now, Mister Reed," he said, his voice silky smooth, "We are going to have a chat about the defensive capabilities of your ship."

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you anything?" Malcolm sneered.

"Because, if you don't then I'll torture that pretty young Ensign in front of you."

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What do you think?

Review please.

Pretty please.

Pretty please with whipped cream, sprinkles and a flake on top...

(Ooh, that sounds nice... Sorry. Got distracted.)

LieutenantsLady


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